Josebe Dominguez

Midterm

April 30, 2014

Interview

Last Friday, I went to Richard J. Rundle Elementary School in order to complete my

Midterm assignment. When I got there, I was asked for the interview letter from my

teacher. When I gave her the interview letter, I received the visitor pass and proceed to the

principals office. When I was there I introduced myself and explained why I was there.

The person I was assigned to interview is a Third grade teacher Emily Miles.

Upon entering in the classroom, I found a lively and colorful room. I found the

classroom wholly centered upon children and active learning. Sight words, the alphabet,

numbers, and inspirational quotes cover the walls while large bulleting boards proudly

display students work. The students in the classroom were very diverse. I found that this

classroom is populated by English language learner students. There is one gifted student,

two students with disabilities, and of course students who are culturally diverse.

The first question I asked Ms. Miles was How does your school benefit from

integrating multicultural education into your classroom? Ms. Miles said that 90 percent of

the students of Randle Elementary School are Hispanic and the other 10 percent is a mix of

many different cultures. She said that having students culturally different ensures that all

students learn the habits or characteristics of other cultures. Ms. Miles said that although

most of the students are Hispanic, they come from different countries, so their cultures are

slightly different. That is why it is important that students recognize and respect the

different cultures they have. For example some cultures celebrate holidays that American

culture do not celebrate, so by integrating multicultural education into the classroom,

students can understand and respect those holidays. She said that by integrating

multicultural education students could understand why people in the United States

sometimes do no speak their same language, or even members of their same families.

Ms. Miles said that most of her experiences in Las Vegas are related with people

whose backgrounds are different than her own. She said that she is from the Mid-West,

Illinois, she was born and raised in a small town, and teaching in Las Vegas has been a big

change in her life. She said that students in Las Vegas are more diverse; they are from many

different backgrounds. Ms. Miles said that the learning gap is more severe here in Las

Vegas than in Illinois. She said that here in Las Vegas there is a lack of support from the

students households in the academic field. Which is different than her culture. In her

culture the goal is to go to college, get a good job, good insurance, good long-term benefits.

To her, some other cultures do not focus on this, and they are more focused on the families.

She does not say that this is wrong, she just says that it is very different than what she was

taught.

Ms. Miles said that there are multiple strategies that teachers can use when

integrating cultural diversity in the classroom. She said that she integrates activities into the

lectures so students become more interested and curious about different cultures. She said

that she tries that students talk and discuss and share any aspect in which they agree or

disagree in a respectful way.

Ms. Miles believes that diversity has played a role in shaping her teaching style. She

said that in Las Vegas, many students have parents that do not speak English, or have no

formal education. She said that these parents care about their children, but their definition

of what is best for them may not be what she sees it is best for them, so working with these

parents and explaining them what they need to be doing at home has changed her teaching
style. She said that diversity has opened her eyes and it has allowed her to differentiate her

lessons. Ms. Miles was taught to teach in a different way, and she never imagined she was

going to send homework in Spanish so parent could help their children.

When I asked Ms. Miles what kind of cultural activities she integrates into her

lesson plans, she answered that sometimes she celebrates different holidays like Cinco de

Mayo, or Hispanic Heritage.

I asked Ms. Miles, How is important multicultural education for teacher? Ms. Miles

answered that she believes that teachers have to consider the relationship between culture

and learning, and they have to understand that culturally responsive teaching involves

genuine respect for students and belief their potential as learners. Ms. Miles thinks that

teachers have to understand the importance of connecting to the students experiences and

have to explore how to create culturally responsive, caring environments.

Another question that I had for Ms. Miles was Do you support bilingual

education? Ms. Miles supports bilingual education as long as it accomplishes two

characteristics. The first is the development of academic English and school success, and

the second is the development of the heritage language. She believes that good bilingual

education programs have to achieve both goals.

My third question to Ms. Miles was: What does multicultural education means to

you. Ms. Miles answered that multicultural education is more than grouping students

from different cultures and teaching them how to respect each other. To her, it means

freedom, and she believes students need to be prepared for their responsibilities in an

independent world.

My fourth question to Ms. Miles was Is Multicultural education bad in any way.?

Ms. Miles believes that some people criticizes multicultural education because they do not
assimilate other cultures and they dont understand why their children have to be taught that

way

I had a last question for Ms, Miles Do you prefer to teach in a multicultural

environment? Ms. Miles absolutely prefers to work in a multicultural environment. Besides

teaching students to respect each other, she is learning other cultures too, and she enjoys

every single day working with children culturally different.

After doing my interview with Ms. Miles I could realize how present multicultural

education is in our todays classroom. I would absolutely enjoy working with children who

are culturally different, and I am so excited about that.

 Work Cited

Miles, Emily. Personal Interview. April 25th, 2014